Negative Keyword Agreements In Trademark And Competition Law

In digital advertising, keyword-based targeting has become a widespread marketing method that significantly impacts the visibility of businesses. Negative keyword matching, on the other hand, prevents ads from being displayed when certain words are searched for, and in some cases, may be used as part of a business's competitive strategy. The legal nature of this method is important from both competition law and trademark law perspectives.

1. Negative Keyword Matching

Negative matching is a setting that prevents an ad from appearing when certain brands or keywords are searched for on platforms such as Google Ads. When this practice is implemented through an agreement between competitors, it may give rise to different legal consequences.